What Will You Sell on eBay?
You may have heard that many have quit their jobs to sell full time on eBay.
Maybe you have that ambition or just want to make some mad money to take a
vacation every year. Whatever the reason for selling on eBay, you need to know
what you can sell to make a profit.
People sell just about everything on eBay. You might have an attic full of Aunt
Minnies leftovers from the estate sale or baby items you didn’t get rid of. If
they are of good quality, you may find a market on eBay.
Where to Find Your Merchandise
You can start in your home. On the eBay website under Seller Resources there
is a link called The eBay Idea House. It is actually a magnificent tool. When
you click on it you are taken to a virtual house. Click on each room and see
where you can look for ideas of what to sell. Some people go straight for the
garage in their home but other items are just sitting in the bathroom or bedroom
waiting to be noticed.
Outside of the home, the first place to find an eBay worthy item is a yard sale.
Yard sales are not about selling junk, but items you don’t have a need for
anymore. You can find great deals at church and community yard sales. Come armed
with cash and a vehicle big enough to take away larger items you might find for
a bargain.
What to Look for in an Item
Most items that you can think of are able to be sold on eBay, but they may not
be worthy of a sale. That means that your mother-in-laws beaded antique lamp
might not fetch a good price on eBay. If it looks hideous to you its probably
hideous to your bidders. Save it for when The Antique Road Show comes to town
instead.
The main aspect of an item for possible sale is whether you can get a higher
price on eBay than you are paying for it right now. An example is gaming
systems. They are hot sellers throughout the year. The best time to find them is
when they first go on sale in stores. If you can afford to buy three or four at
$400 a piece, you can make at least twice that much for each one on eBay,
especially if the system is in limited release in stores.
On the other hand, larger items like curio cabinets or wardrobes may not be cost
effective for you. They will cost a lot to ship and the price customers are
willing to pay may not make a decent profit. However, there is the option of
setting up a local only sale, where the winning bidder must come pick the item
up so consider that if you’ve got furniture or larger items you’d like to get
rid of.
Prohibited Items
We’d be remiss if this wasn’t mentioned. Remember the rules? There are people
who will test the limits but you don’t want to be one of them. Know what you
cant sell as well so you can stay clear of them.
Pornographic items Used clothing Recalled items Credit cards Event
tickets (thats scalping if you didn’t know) Alcohol (the drinking kind)
Weapons Food (even space rations) Human body parts
This is a limited list. Go to eBay and look under Seller Resources and then
Prohibited Items for a more detailed list.
Selling on eBay can be both fun and profitable when you choose the right items
to sell. Evaluate each item by the market and the work involved in selling and
processing it before just throwing it up for sale.
